A God Rises
by Paladin's Throne
Summary: Reluctantly accepting a mission from the new leader of the Order of the Sword, to find a lost group of knights, Nero discovers an ancient evil underneath Mitis Forest...An evil that has reawakened after thousands of years...And hungers for souls.


_**A God Rises.**_

* * *

**Part One: The Assignment.**

Two millennia ago, there was a war between the Human World, and the Underworld.

The inhabitants of the Underworld vastly outnumbered and overpowered the weak, defenseless humans, who could only cower and beg for mercy from their soon to be masters.

But someone from the Underworld awoke to justice…

And he took up his sword, which bore his own name, for the sake of mankind.

His name was Sparda.

Having single-handedly beaten back the armies of the Underworld, and sealing the door between the two worlds by sacrificing his own vast demonic powers and placing them within his beloved sword, the now human Sparda quietly settled down in a small kingdom, and was hailed as their king and savior. A kingdom upon an island…

Fortuna Island.

Legend goes that Sparda discovered a second gate to the demonic world upon the island. Using his second sword, the legendary dark forged katana, Yamato, Sparda sealed the second gate with its vast magic.

Though Sparda ruled Fortuna for many a generation, he eventually left the island and its inhabitants, seeking to explore the human world he had come to love and cherish so much.

Though his rule was brief, his legend that became known around the rule thrived its strongest on Fortuna, where he was no longer revered as king…

But god.

Two millennia passed…

And for the rest of the world, Sparda had become exactly what he was meant to be:

A legend.

So, the descendants of his subjects…

Sought to remind the world of what Sparda truly was.

Their Savior.

* * *

Mitis Forest.

For many years it had been the 'backyard' of Fortuna's ancient citadel, once said to be Sparda's home when he reigned as king on the island. In modern times, access to the forest was only allowed to those who served in the Order of the Sword, and served as the training grounds for young squires who longed to be knighted as soldiers of Sparda's army.

But that was then…

What had once been a simple forest of oak trees was now a thriving, humid jungle…

Brimming with demonic power, the after effects of madmen's twisted ambitions.

Past several warped trees, a series of tangled vines writhed and shook, though not under their own power. They paused for a moment…and then one could suddenly hearing a faint revving of an engine…

Before the vines exploded in an explosive blast of fire and steel as a figure charged through the trees and into the bright light of day.

He was a young man, no older than twenty; his brushed down silver hair reflecting the sun's golden rays, his skin pale, almost deathly pale. He wore a blue and red coat over a red vest already over his dark blue shirt and pants, and held in his left hand was a curious sword. It's design was reminiscent of the ancient Messer sword, but strangely, it had something that resembled a gear shift built into the blood red hilt. Though the sword was almost longer than the boy's torso, he held it easily with no effort at all, balancing the blade over his shoulder while he peered into the distance ahead, icy blue eyes shielded by the black and red glove over his right hand as he held it over his face to shield from the light.

In the distance, he could make out familiar ruins, the proverbial 'training grounds' of the Order's new recruits. He himself could recall the days long past when too had trained there…

He lowered his gloved hand, shaking his head.

"No time to get lost down memory lane," Nero chided himself, once more moving forward, ever closer towards the ruins. He growled lowly as he nearly tripped over more vines, and he could see more twisted foliage ahead.

"Shit…the Gates really did a number on this place…" Nero muttered, before pausing, then smirking. "Glad that prick Augus is d-d-d-dead." Snickering, Nero resumed his pace.

He had a job to do…

One the young man was reluctant to see through.

* * *

Fortuna Castle, the hottest tourist spot on the entire island.

The legends of the island said Sparda had lived in the ancient halls of the castle for several centuries, and the master bedroom of the island was preserved, with no one allowed to live in the quarters. After Sparda had departed, the castle had for a time served as the headquarters of the newly established Order of the Sword.

The Order's goals were simple, but absolute:

Protect the world from the demons Sparda had once fought, and follow the doctrine of their Savior.

After several centuries, the Order moved their operations to a newly constructed Headquarters, a massive fortress that dwarfed even Sparda's citadel. The Headquarters housed the growing Order of the Swords forces, trained men and women who numbered over a thousand by the twenty-first century. The leader of the Order, former Supreme General of the Holy Knights, Sanctus, saw a different way to fulfill their god's ambitions…

By controlling demonic power, he sought to 'save the world', as Sparda once had…

Unfortunately, the absolute destruction of the world was required in order to save it.

But, in a twist of fate so ironic…

It would be those of Sparda's blood who ended Sanctus' mad ambitions once and for all.

The world was saved, though the cost was high.

Fortuna was nearly annihilated by Sanctus when he unleashed the world's 'Savior', and the demons he unleashed by unsealing the true Hell Gate Sparda had locked saw hundreds of lives slaughtered.

But, life goes on, and while the survivors mourn, they also heal...

And try to forget the evils they witnessed.

Never realizing…

Another evil was already awakening.

* * *

He stood in the castle's grand hall, pacing between the rows of pews.

Fortuna Castle was one of the few places on the island not overly damaged by Sanctus' rampage, and as it had centuries ago, it once more served as the Headquarters for the Order of the Sword.

The Order had lost much because of Sanctus…

Hundreds of their finest knights who foolishly gambled away their souls, becoming demonic mockeries and calling themselves Angels. Their young captain, an honorable man who had served Sparda's way and died trying to save his sister and foster brother. Their Headquarters, which had housed a false savior, destroyed as it had been 'born'.

What was left of their numbers had been squabbling ever since, fighting for leadership and ideals, a small few still having believed in Sanctus.

Finally, they had been exiled, and the Order focused its attentions on their home and restoring it to its former glory.

He turned when he heard the doors of the castle open.

Three people walked in, the two men on opposite sides of the middle younger man. Both of them were wearing the white of the Order, same as he was, rapiers sheathed, while the third younger man, in the uncustomary red and blue, his young face exposed in a scowl of annoyance as he glared at the two men escorting him, their own expression hidden by their hoods.

He looked to them and said, "Dismissed."

They nodded and turned, walking towards a door that led into one of the castle's many halls, returning to whatever duties they had.

That left the younger man and the older alone in the hall.

The younger man continued to scowl, huffing and stomping over towards the pews before lazily sitting down, boots propped up rudely as he glared at the still standing man.

"Well Lamorak, to what do I owe the pleasure of this summons?" Nero asked, tone annoyed, icy eyes glaring at the older man as he went on, "Not like I was doin' anything important…'cept helping rebuild our destroyed town. Though it looks like you're still just standin' around ordering people…like a good leader." He didn't bother to hide his scathing sarcasm in the last part of his sentence.

Lamorak was only in his thirties, but already gray lined the sides of his short hair, a sign of stress, not age. His face was lean and hawk like, and he wore the white captain's attire of the Order of the Sword, the Order's emblem embroidered on his left shoulder, his golden Durandal sheathed at his waist. He had been elected as Captain of the Order of the Swords Knights and for all intents and purposes was the unofficial leader of the Order. While he wasn't as charismatic as Sanctus had been, he was doing his best to help the people of Fortuna and the Order recover.

Which would be much easier if this punk would follow my orders, Lamorak thought to himself in annoyance, though his expression betrayed nothing.

"Thank you for finally answering my request to speak, Nero," he started saying, his tone much more respectable than his actual thoughts.

The younger man scoffed, silver bangs hiding his eyes as he replied, "Not like I had a choice when you sent your asshole brigade to drag me up here."

Lamorak frowned. "You ignored my other messages for a meeting, so I was left with no other option." He reasoned.

Nero shrugged. "Whatever. I'm up here, so you might as well say what you gotta say while I have the patience to listen."

Lamorak resisted the urge to shake his head. This young man's attitude was appalling, and he had once been called a knight of the Order. His lack of chivalry had caused numerous rumors to float about the Order, ranging from his disregard to working with others, his usage of firearms (A sign of weakness, no true warrior would ever use a gun), and even rumors saying he did not acknowledge Sparda as their savior.

But despite all that, Nero was second to none…

And Credo had always trusted him to complete missions most others would deem impossible.

So Lamarok was going to take that same chance…

"As you are aware of, those of us in the Order have seen to remove the remnants of Agnus' research still within the castle basement," Lamarok began.

Nero rolled his eyes at that. "Gee, that sounds so much more important than rebuilding the people's homes and tending to the sick and injured," Nero scathingly added.

Lamarok narrowed his eyes, meeting Nero's icy glare evenly.

"I have seen to give to certain citizens room and board within these very walls," Lamarok defended, but Nero interrupted quickly.

"Oh yeah? I heard those citizens have become your servants, picking up after you, making your meals and changing your sheets. Such generosity," Nero spat, his temper flaring dangerously.

Another reason Nero had never been popular with the Order, he was a hot-head, ruled by his emotions. He had nothing of a knight's aloofness. Lamarok sighed harshly, shaking his head before speaking again.

"Nero, I did not summon you here to listen to you criticize my choices as the Order's leader."

Nero sneered as he stood up suddenly, brushing his jacket while saying, "Funny, that's the only reason I even bothered to come at all. But since you can't take a little constructive criticism, I guess I'll be on my way."

Lamarok gasped harshly as Nero turned and started towards the doors. He quickly followed after, snatching Nero by the shoulder of his jacket. The younger man didn't take kindly to that.

Snarling a "Hands off!" Nero whirled around, smacking Lamarok's hand off himself with his gloved hand. Lamarok winced, stumbling back, clutching his now aching wrist, before returning his gaze to Nero, who glared fiercely back, gloved hand clenched into a tight fist.

In the darkness, a faint blue glow could be seen rising from under the glove. Lamarok swallowed and took a step back, his eyes lingering on the glove. Nero scowled, recognizing the glint of fear in the older man's eyes. The younger man forced his hand to unclench, finger by finger, and the faint glow receded. Nero fiddled with one of the rings on his left hand, looking away from Lamarok, back towards the door.

Seeing this, the captain quickly said, "Nero, please. I know you don't like me, and I can't say I'm fond of you either," to that the younger man sneered once again, but remained silent, letting Lamarok go on.

"But this is very serious situation, and several lives may hang in the balance." With that, he went silent, watching Nero closely, waiting for the younger man's response. Nero continued to fiddle with his ring, a curious item with a rose engraved on it. When he had been part of the Order, Nero had worn a second ring with the Order of the Sword's emblem engraved on it, though he had stopped wearing the ring after the events of Sanctus' attempt at world conquest.

Finally the young man sighed and let his hand fall away from his ring, giving Lamarok another glare but saying in a much calmer tone, "Whatever. Just tell me now while I feel like listening."

Lamarok breathed a sigh of relief, nodding gratefully to Nero and saying, "Thank you."

The two walked back over to the pews, Nero once more sitting down, boots propped up while Lamarok stood, silent as he gathered his words before finally speaking again.

"As I said, we of the Order have taken it upon ourselves to clean out the remainder of Agnus' experiments…when we discovered some of his research notes." He paused, looking back at Nero. The younger man for once didn't have that constant scowl on his face, but rather a slight glint of interest in his eye. Pleased he had the boy's attention, Lamarok resumed.

"His notes spoke of…something, he had found under the ancient ruins within Mitis Forest. His notes spoke of a plan to excavate whatever it was, but…well, the day of excavation was to take place…the same day Dante appeared on our island."

At the mention of the son of Sparda's name, Nero grinned, though not in a kind way.

"Really now?" He asked, chuckling and adding, "Well I'll be sure to mention that the next time I see him. Maybe we owe him another 'thank you' for putting a stop to another diabolical plan before it could even begin."

Lamarok narrowed his eyes, turning away from Nero's grin, hands behind his back.

"That…may not be the case." Lamarok said, voice low and tense.

Nero frowned, suspicion replacing the intrigue. "What do you mean?" He asked, voice low.

Lamarok stepped a little further away from Nero, silent for several seconds before speaking again. "The notes were very ambiguous…I couldn't be sure that Agnus had already begun trying to find whatever it was that was beneath those ruins…So, I sent a small squad of knights to investigate."

Lamarok trailed off, silent for several moments. Nero narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He hated this dramatic crap…

Finally, Lamarok turned, facing the younger man once more, his expression serious and foreboding.

"That was three days ago, and I've received no word from their leader since then."

Nero sighed harshly, shaking his head in disgust.

"Let me guess, you want me to head up to Mitis Forest and find them?" Nero asked; eyes filled with annoyance, tone of his voice matching. Lamarok nodded and Nero groaned. The younger man sat up, turning towards the doors and replied without even looking over his shoulder, "Well I guess they're shit out of luck then, because I've made it clear to you guys I don't want anything more do with any of you or the Order. Send some more of your asshole brigade to find them. They're probably lost or something…Or more likely camping out so they don't have to listen to your bullshit."

Lamarok watched him walk away, silent for several seconds, eyes lowered, expression contemplative. Just as Nero reached the doors Lamarok called to him.

"Nero. I know I have no right to ask you to do this…but I can't send more men into what could be an extremely dangerous situation, not again. I was too rash in ordering the first squad to go…and if something has happened to them…I owe it to their families and loved ones some kind of explanation, some kind of effort in finding them…and your…abilities…give you an edge. I believe only you can do this."

At the mention of 'abilities', Nero found his left hand unconsciously rubbing his right hand's wrist, the gloved fingers flexing tightly. Groaning harshly in annoyance, he ran his hand through his silver locks before asking Lamarok but not facing him, "And you're going to keep hounding me about this until I say yes, aren't you?"

Lamarok allowed himself a rare smirk as he replied, "You're not the only one who can be called stubborn."

Nero finally turned, smirking in return as well. "More like obsessive." The younger man approached the captain, smirk falling away, his aloofness giving way into a more somber, serious expression, closely matching Lamarok's own. He stopped when he stood directly across the older man, and Nero was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

"If I do this…it's the first and last favor I'll do for you. Understood?"

Lamarok frowned as he gazed down on Nero for a few seconds, contemplating his words. Finally, the captain responded, "I suppose I can accept those terms…that is, if you will accept the task of finding those men."

Nero nodded, grinning. "If it means getting you off my ass for the rest of my life, then I'll do it…I won't like it, but I'll do it." With that he turned and started back towards the double doors. Lamarok gasped, eyes widening.

"But I thought you said-!"

Nero interrupted him quickly, "Cool your jets; I'm just heading back to town to get my sword and gun…" He stopped his stride and looked back at Lamarok, smirking. "Or would you prefer I go in empty-handed?"

Lamarok actually seemed to consider Nero's words for several seconds, his eyes wandering onto Nero's gloved hand before responding.

"You wouldn't exactly be defenseless."

Nero growled a 'tch', once more unconsciously rubbing his right hand's wrist before shoving the doors of the castle open, letting the cold air rush in. Before he stepped outside, he said to Lamarok, "Do something useful for once and have the bridge ready by the time I get back."

The captain's eyes narrowed, expression becoming indignant, but he didn't have a chance to retort as Nero stepped out of the castle and into the frost covered drawbridge. Annoyed by the boy's pompous attitude and lack of regard for his rank, Lamarok stood there a moment, fists clenched tightly. Then with a huff he turned towards the doors that led to the castle halls, making his way for the second floor.

He didn't like being ordered around, but Lamarok knew this boy might be the only one able to do this…

Nero meanwhile ignored the bite of the frigid winds as he stomped cross the drawbridge and made his way back towards the mountain passes that led back into the city. He was once again fiddling with his ring, his expression bitter. He wanted nothing to do with the Order of the Sword anymore…

Not after what Sanctus had done…

Using Credo…

Using Kyrie…

He sighed. Telling Kyrie he was doing them a favor wasn't going to make her happy…

But if doing Lamarok this favor of finding some lost idiots meant he never had to be bothered by them again…

He'd deal with it.

For her.

Letting his hand fall away, Nero flexed his gloved fingers slowly, listening to the faint pops of his joints.

"Find some smartasses who think they're badasses but still stupid enough to get lost…Simple enough," was Nero's ultimate conclusion as he started dredging up the trail back to town.

* * *

"Simple…Right," Nero muttered as he snapped from the reverie his memories.

That had been several hours ago, and after getting his sword, a custom durandal dubbed 'Red Queen' from the Order, but modified to his own likings, and his gun, a double-barrel fifty caliber revolver he called 'Blue Rose'. Lamarok had lowered the bridge from Foris Falls and given him a half-hearted "Good luck," before wandering off into the castle, to do whatever he did while everybody else worked tirelessly to fix their home. Nero scowled thinking of that prick.

Credo had been a strong, capable captain, who fought alongside his men. Lamarok just barked orders and hid behind a non-existent authority.

"Well soon enough I won't have to deal with him anymore," Nero reminded himself aloud, simply for the sake of hearing something. Mitis Forest had always bustled with life, bird cries and insect chirps echoing from deep within it…

But after Agnus' artificial Hell Gate had opened…

The forest was silent.

Even after the Gate's destruction, the forest was still warped and silent.

For the last several hours Nero had been hacking his way through twisting vines, trying to remember the warped path of this place, though he had only traveled through hit once, the path was still familiar, just twisted. Matters were not helped by the fact he was looking for a bunch of lost idiots and trying to follow their trail. Lamaork hadn't helped at all, especially for being so vague as to the location of the site of where the Order knights were. 'Under the ancient ruins'…did that idiot forget there were ruins scattered throughout the whole forest?

"Maybe if he got out of that castle and breathed some fresh air he'd remember…" Nero paused, before smirking and shaking his head. "Nope, probably start choking."

Getting too distracted, Nero continued through the forest in silence, making his way past the training grounds. Another reason he was having a hard time tracking down the lost knights was that Lamarok decided to wait two whole days before sending someone to find them. The trail wasn't fresh, wasn't gone, but it was hard to find, and while Nero was a decent tracker, he was a great tracker when he was on the heels of his query.

Nero ticked off in his head all the spots that he had visited so far that could count as 'ancient ruins'.

The ancient cathedral had been empty, he had already checked that…

So that left two locations, the plaza, and the training grounds.

Both were on the way to the ruin that had once been the Order of the Sword's headquarters.

Nodding, Nero continued on his way, jogging at a fast pace.

He just wanted to find these knights and go home.

The ancient plaza was just up ahead, past this curve. Nero recalled his first encounter with those lizard demons, 'Assualts', the Order had called them. Thinking of them made Nero frown.

He had encountered no demons, not a single one. He didn't like that. During his hunt for 'His Holiness' murderer', Nero had encountered numerous demons, all summoned by the Gates. Gloria (Trish, he amended, remembering that blonde babe who had been Dante's partner, and mole in the Order) had told him no matter how many were killed, more kept coming. Though Dante had destroyed the False Hell Gates, when Sanctus had opened the True Hell Gate, thousands of demons had poured out, almost assuring Fortuna's destruction.

It was only thanks to Sanctus' delusions that most of those demons had been destroyed by his 'Savior'. Most, not all. Nero and the other Knights of the Order still had to kill a few every now and again…

So why hadn't he encountered any yet? Mitis Forest would make a good hiding spot as any…

And Nero was the only human around…So to speak.

Unless they got those idiots before they could even look into Agnus' report, Nero wondered.

The more he thought about that, the more he was fast concluding that was the case. Shaking his head with a noise of disgust slipping past his lips, Nero rounded the corner, arriving in the ancient plaza-

The young man stopped dead in his tracks, icy blue eyes wide, jaw agape.

"What…the hell?" He gasped out.

The ancient plaza from what Nero remembered seeing of it, had been an open hole in the ground with stone steps on all sides, kind of like seats for a really small coliseum…

Now…

Now it was completely dug out, and it its place was a massive hole in the ground, a small mechanical lift crudely built onto one of the four sides of the perfectly shaped square hole, many shovels and picks scattered about the area.

Nero stepped closer, peering down the great hole, seeing nothing but blackness. His eyes narrowed, jaw grinding down in barely restrained fury. He had been played.

"He lied to me."

His fists were clenched so tightly they shook.

Lamarok had lied. He hadn't sent those knights to see if Agnus had started his last project…

He had begun what the mad scientist never had a chance to do.

Fuming silently, Nero turned on his heel, teeth bared in a ferocious snarl, stomping back towards the passage. He was going to get out of this forest and head back to the castle, rev Red Queen up to maximum and shove it straight up Lamarok's-

A bright flash of blue caught the corner of his eye. Stopping, Nero glanced curiously at his gloved hand, watching the blue fade, sinking under the leather. He flexed his fingers open slowly, then clenched them back into a fist, listening to the material squelch in protest.

The young knight turned back towards the hole, his anger cooling back into annoyance. Those men were in that hole, with whatever Agnus had found…

Rolling his right arm, Nero approached the small lift, stepping onto it carefully as he felt it sway a little from his sudden weight on it. He found the controls and after a few flicked switches, heard the rumble of an engine and the grinding of gears. Nero crossed his arms as he slowly sank into the abyss, blue eyes gazing down into the darkness.

"Let's see if the abyss really does stare back…" He murmured as he sank into the darkness, disappearing from the light's warmth and protection.

* * *

Nero had no idea how long he was descending, the pitch blackness surrounding him seemed to go on, and on, and on…

Until Nero blinked when he saw a pin prick of soft golden orange light flickering up ahead…

And then he did suddenly stop with a sudden jerk and sound of metal meeting stone.

Gazing ahead, blue eyes locked on the spot of light, Nero carefully stepped off the lift and made his way towards the light. In moments he arrived next to the source of it, a torch embedded in the wall. Gazing ahead, he could see several more lining the sides of the earthy walls.

Nero noted the smoothness of the walls and how he couldn't see the end of the tunnel yet, just more torches. He found his fury towards Lamarok rising back up.

"This is what he was having the Order do," Nero realized aloud. "He was trying to dig up whatever Agnus found…Three days my ass, they had to have been workin' on this for weeks." Gloved fist tightening, Nero slammed his hand against the wall with such force dust fell from the ceiling. With that he stomped through the tunnel, following the torch light to lead him to his unknown destination.

As he silently rushed through the tunnel, his thoughts drifted back to Lamarok's deception…

But then something occurred to Nero.

Lamarok had to know Nero was going to discover it wasn't a group of lost knights…

So why then, did he try so hard to get Nero to accept this mission?

"Is this a trap?" He wondered aloud.

If it was…

Nero's train of thought was broken when he spotted something lying ahead under the torchlight.

Demons.

Dead ones.

Nero slowed his pace as he glanced down on the bodies, seeing the familiar green scales, long claws and feathers lining the heads. Assualts. And a lot of them by the looks of it. Nero counted half a dozen bodies from what he could see.

Crouching down, he inspected them a bit more closely, seeing familiar long marks with the demon's green blood around them. Sword wounds. "Well, he didn't lie about them being knights at least," Nero said as he rose back up, moving past the demons bodies and continuing down the tunnel.

This explained why there had been no Assualts gunning for him on the surface, they must have dived down here for their meals…

Whoever Lamarok had really sent down must be up ahead, although Nero was starting to wonder just how far this tunnel went. The young man turned another corner that had two torches lining it-

And stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening into saucers, jaw open.

If the big hole in the ground that led him here had been unexpected…

Then he had no idea of what to make of what was in front of him.

"What…the…fuck?"

At first he couldn't believe it, not because of the shock, but rather the absurdity of what stood before him.

It was a pyramid.

That was the only word to describe the monolith before him. Towering several meters, almost as high and wide as the cathedral back in Fortuna but still smaller than the castle. Unlike the pyramids of Egyptian fame, this one was ridged as opposed to its sides being smooth, not unlike the pyramids of the Aztec in Mexico.

Nero took several shaky steps forward, blue eyes still locked on the giant structure before him. His stunned daze was broken when he stepped on something and almost tripped. Nero exclaimed in shock, stumbling, eyes looking down-

And then he yelled in horror, stumbling back several steps, eyes wide with horror now, pale face sweaty.

He had almost tripped over a body.

A human body.

Nero had seen plenty of corpses in his young life…

But nothing like this.

The body was of a man dressed in the standard white of the Order, his rapier lying only a few inches from his outstretched hand…

But the hood of his uniform had been knocked off, exposing his face.

And revealing the man had been drained into nothing but a withered husk, his stretched skin a dark, dry brown, his eyes gone, leaving nothing but empty sockets, his gaping mouth left open in a twisted scream of horror.

Nero's skin bristled, sweat dripping down the sides of his temples and across his forehead, icy eyes wide with ever growing horror.

"What…what could have done this?" He gasped out.

All the demons he had ever seen like to eat their victims, tearing them apart into bloody chunks; and that was only the few that actually did eat the poor souls that ended up in their claws. The rest just slaughtered their unlucky victim for the sake of slaughter…

But this…

He hesitantly approached another body, nudging it over with his boot. The lack of weight and the sunken, dried face confirmed what he needed to know. All of these men, every last one, had had the life sucked out of them before they had a chance to raise their swords to defend themselves.

Nero carefully moved past the bodies, his eyes moving from one corpse to the next, unable to look away from the frozen expressions of horror…

A scream echoed in the underground area, causing Nero to gasp and snap his head forward, eyes wide and on the pyramid.

The scream was a long howl of terror…

And it was coming from inside the pyramid.

A survivor! But not for much longer, Nero realized, his horror giving way to fierce focus as he charged forward in a run, dashing up the steps of the pyramid two at a time. The stairs seemed to go on and on…

As did the victim of whatever had done all this screamed.

Nero growled lowly, teeth bared as he forced himself to go faster, practically leaping up the remainder of the stairs and arriving in front of an open door on the center level of the pyramid, torch light filtering from inside it. Snarling, Nero dashed inside, running down a long corridor, listening to the scream grow louder and louder.

Finally, Nero emerged from the corridor into a large open space, torches lining the pillars that supported the ceiling above. Unlike the movies, this temple room possessed no gold and jewels or other fabulous treasure. Instead…

Nero's eyes blinked, his fury fading once more into shock.

He had arrived to the source of the scream, a young knight in the Order's white…

Held aloft in the massive fist of a humanoid beast, which currently had its back to Nero, its huge form hidden in shadows as it held the screaming man. Nero watched in sick, horrified, fascination as thin lines of golden energy seeped from the screaming man's body and into the beast's outstretched arm, slinking silently as serpents as they travelled through the monster's arm and into its body, each golden line that vanished seeming to add a line on the screaming knight's face, which began to look thinner and leaner with each passing second, his eyes widening and seeming to shrink and begin to dry up.

His soul, Nero realized, having seen something like this before, when he had stumbled into Agnus' 'production lab' where he made his demons, watching with disgust as several Order Knights have their souls sucked up to power those suits of white armor…

Finally, after a few more seconds of agonized cries of terror, the man suddenly went limp with a pathetic sounding gasp.

This prompted Nero to snap out of his daze, eyes narrowing, teeth bared and he shouted, "Put him down!"

The beast hidden in the shadows continued to ignore Nero.

Snarling, Nero drew Blue Rose without his usual flourish, aiming both barrels at whatever was hiding in the darkness.

"I said. LET. HIM. GO!"

With that roar of fury, Nero pulled the trigger, two burning thorns firing from the Blue Rose and piercing the beast with a wet, punching noise.

The creature jerked, but made no sound, shifting its attention away from its meal and towards Nero…

Revealing two burning red flickers of light.

Its eyes.

Upon spotting the young knight, the beast suddenly tossed the dried up husk of its latest meal aside, the body flying across the room and coming to a sudden halt as it collided with the far wall, shattering into nothing but dust and dried bones. Nero winced as he heard the sickening 'crack' of the body colliding with the wall, but kept his attention on the demon hiding in the shadows. The beast likewise kept its red eyes on Nero, the burning orbs narrowed.

Then…

It stepped into the light.

Nero's eyes widened as the monster unveiled itself to him.

All the demons he had encountered had several recurring features…

Claws and fangs, and a form that tried to mimic a basic humanoid but most often failed, or was a twisted parody of a common animal.

But this thing…

Nero didn't know how to react to it.

It had to be at least seven, maybe even eight feet tall, larger than any normal man, and it had the basic shape of a man, torso, arms, legs and head…

But the resemblance ended there.

It's huge body bulged with nothing but muscles tensed with raw power, and it was nude save for strange a stone kilt of some sort, and two stone ringlets around its ankles, a stone wrist band around its right arm, and a shield on the left with strange inscriptions carved upon it. On its head was a long, stone headdress, like the kind the ancient tribes of long past once wore. But even its clothes, if they could be called that, weren't the strangest part.

The beast's skin was a dark, emerald green, and its hair, tied into a long ponytail, was either red, or magenta, Nero couldn't tell or care.

It looked different, but it was still a demon.

And he was trained to kill these monsters, with extreme prejudice.

"You enjoy your meal, asshole?" Nero asked through a grit jaw, Blue Rose still extended out, his finger on the trigger. The beast, the demon, the Ogre, remained silent, simply observing Nero, red eyes blazing, face expressionless.

"I hope you did…because I'm gonna make you pay for each and every one of those men whose soul sucked dry… So it better have been worth it for the world of hurt you're about to end up in. You hear me?!" Nero demanded, eyes widening…

And in the flickering torchlight, seemed to burn red as well, his shaking gloved hand that held Blue Rose also emitting a faint blue light.

This did not go unnoticed by the Ogre, who watched the glow silently, face still blank, though its red eyes flickered curiously…

And then its lips curved into a smirk, a faint rumbling growl slipping from its throat.

"So, you can talk," Nero whispered.

Then he too grinned, thumb pulling the Blue Rose's hammer back.

"Good. Because that means you can scream too."

* * *

And here we are.

When I first thought up my ideas for Tekken characters vs Devil May Cry characters, I had a hard time thinking of who would be a good match up for Nero, which was frustrating, cause I love this punk. I love his personality, I love his fighting style, I love his devotion to Kyrie, and fuck it, I love Devil May Cry 4. Screw the haters who can't appreciate good games and think DmC is better than 4.

Credit for the match up doesn't go to me, but Da-Awesom-One. He lives up to his name, btw.

This is part one of what I think will be four parts, plus an epilogue.

but after this one, I'm taking a break from the Tekken match ups. Don't worry, there is plenty more to go, I just want to switch things up to keep it interesting, ya hear me? I'll be moving onto Street Fighter, and later Darkstalkers.

Anyway, I'm going to do a review response for Angels Clash, since that one was the first real one-shot I've done for these match ups.

anime lover: Really? Kill Angel? Whose main power is purifying demonic energies and turning people back into fullblooded humans? Dante and Vergil would lose their demonic powers if they fought her. I'm still not sure how Nelo won that fight. Oh, right, he's awesome. Ok, anime lover, we gotta talk about how cramming ideas down my throat does not make me write faster. I have a specific list of match ups I'm following for the Tekken characters, ok? And it's strictly main DMC characters, no villains. I'm not trying to be rude, but I need to establish some boundaries, k?

Pyro: Hey you need to tell me what that trip was about.

Bounty Hunter Vincent Vega: Wow, long name and review. It's cool, though me and Starcaptain already hashed it out. Fucking prick kept bashing DMC4. I blocked him. Don't like my opinion on a flat, one-dimensional, parody of a badass I grew up with, and a game that has teh shittiest made for tv plot I predicted in all of five minutes, then go fuck yourself. Not you Vincent, starcaptain. anywhoo, nice to hear from new readers. Glad you like my stuff. Palette swap? non-canon? Yeah you clearly haven't played Tekken past 2. Angel is her own character now. And her canon powers include purifying demonic power, which is why she is so AWESOME...in my opinion. Was my story one of the good 'angel' DMC fics? Not a fan of Street Fighter? That's fine, but fair warning, there are some characters who can keep up with the likes of Dante and Vergil...and maybe even beat them. Oh I was totally going to do Vergil vs Bishamon, since Bishamon is one of my favorite Darkstalkers, my all time favorite being Rikuo...though sadly, I can't see him fighting Dante or Vergil, or Trish...or even Lady. But Demitri will show up since he's one of my favorite Darkstalkers as well...not to mention a pimpin badass. In my opinion, anyway. I'll try man, hopefully my stuff will stay interesting.

See you next chapter everyone.


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